I ain't afraid of no ghost?

Or am I.

It's the Halloween season. Boo! *Grins* did I scare you?

The monsters of Halloween all have fable and myth told about them long before Trick or Treat became the thing to say.

Just about every society has had a vampire myth or legend. Who can blame them? Yes, I do have a soft spot for vampires. Buffy and Twilight have only increased their popularity.

People have believed spirits could come back from the dead since culture began, either as ghosts or vampires or other worldly presences.

We've had a fascination with the moon and men who could turn into werewolves since long before Werewolves of London or Lon Chaney Jr.

My current favorite monster? Zombies. I'm loving the Walking Dead on AMC. Even with the nightmares. What's your favorite?

Have a Boo-n-tiful Halloween. Beware the monsters....

Mechele Armstrong
www.mechelearmstrong.com

Apologies

Uh, *blush* *stammer* sorry, folks. My calendar was attacked by dueling highlighters, in the ensuing mayhem I blogged here last Friday... But I feel awful about screwing up so I stole the best apology I could find for y'all.

Worth a Thousand Words

I don't have any interesting work habits. I don't use index cards or story boards or Ken dolls or paper dolls. I have an outline and I adjust as necessary. But I do love looking at photographs and listening to music when I'm writing -- especially when I'm writing historical fiction.

At the moment, I'm working on the sequel to This Rough Magic. The sequel is called Ill Met By Moonlight, and it's set a few days before New Year's Eve 1935.

Handsome Nob Hill socialite Brett Sheridan and tough PI Neil Patrick Rafferty have been "together" for about six months now. Of course "together" in 1935 was a very different thing than it would be for two gay men today. There are strains on their relationship arising out of more than their very different backgrounds -- and the reappearance of Brett's first love doesn't help matters.

Add in equal measures of Egyptology, blackmail and murder and you've got a very personal case for our two intrepid detectives.

Anyway, it's been a busy year for me and although This Rough Magic only came out a few months ago, it's taken me a while to get up to speed with the characters again. I've been listening a lot to music of the period. One song that featured largely in This Rough Magic was an old Bing Crosby favorite.

I thought I'd share it with you.

Leashed 4: Tangled Leashes is drafted

I have finished the first full draft of Leashed 4: Tangled Leashes. Can I just say WOOT!


You see, this book is a long time coming. Leashed 3: The Lion's Share came out in April of '08. That's more than three years ago now. Far too long to pause in between books, let me tell you. Ok, looking back, there was a 2 year wait between book 2 and book 3, but that just didn't seem as bad/long as this time.

That's probably because I had major problems with this one. The story just would not come. I had full-fledged characters to work with, a number of possible scenarios, tons of problems I could introduce, but no matter how I put the pieces together, they wouldn't stick. It was so bad that I actually took a year hiatus while writing the manuscript. Yep, I started this one in October 2010, I think. Abandoned it in January of this year because it wasn't working and I was killing myself trying to force it. So it sat with Meg and the boys murmuring in the back of my head while I finished a few other projects. But I got back on track. Took me longer to finish than I'd expected, but I think I put a pretty good "end" on it last night. Now, of course, comes polishing, rereading and editing, but at least now I have a draft to work with. Now I have something I feel comfortable signing a contract for.

What's it about? Same characters. Takes place about four months after Lion's Share with Meg dealing with all that's happened. Funny to think -- and she does think this -- that so much has happened in what amounts to six months of her life. But it turns out she's special. Michael's special. Rudy's special. Logan's special. Hmm, yes. Logan. He's still around and still after Meg, although she can't figure out why he'd bother.

So, for those Leashed fans among us, I'm so very sorry for the delay but the next installment is coming. I have no release date to share with you but you know I'll announce it when I do.

I'm at GayRomLit...

And I almost forgot to post! So, GayRomLit is in full swing here in lovely New Orleans. I'm having lots of fun, even though I find it difficult to talk to new people. I've met a lot of awesome Loose Id authors, like Belinda McBride, Kiernan Kelly, Tara Lain, Missy Welsh, Johnny Miles. Heidi Cullinan, Amanda Young and Ethan Day. I've met one of the big guns at Loose Id, Treva Harte. I had a lovely lunch with Lynn Lorenz and a couple of very sweet readers. I don't really act like a typical fan girl, but it has been super-cool meeting all these authors who've written books I love.

There are several other LI authors I hope to run into before the event ends tomorrow, but I have to admit, I'm getting worn out! I've chatted with a lot of fabulous readers and done some sightseeing. I did an author reading, although that was totally terrifying. I wish I had some pictures to post, but I'm not much of a picture taker. I know, I know... I don't talk, I don't take pictures... what good am I?!? ;)

The organizers have done a great job, and I'm thrilled I had a chance to be here for the first one. So, not much of a blog post, but seriously, I'm exhausted and not really prepared for blogging today (hence the late afternoon post). With any luck, I'll be able to attend next year as well.

Alpha males

A few months ago when I wrote A Promise of Amber, the second Treeland Pack Tale, scheduled for release next Tuesday, most of the time I looked like this, except for the curlers.



I love wolfies, but those Alpha males are darn hard to get along with.

Frequently my thoughts turned to how much fun the demon guys had been. Mow that I'm working on the second demon story, I realize my mistake. Demons are not any more reasonable than the werewolves.

What the heck was I thinking? They're demons. Duh.

I actually miss the furry dudes even though they growled and snapped, and made me cry.

One of these days, I'm going try coaxing a story out of some regular human guys.

You Are Already Naked

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about goals and accomplishments. My editor and I have just sent my upcoming release off to line edits. Yay!

It feels good to be getting closer to the completion of this project. Take Me Home was an unexpected story for me and definitely threw my goals off the original plan for 2011. I’m okay with that, though. I’m extremely proud of how this one turned out. It did, however, mean I had to put a hold on my other manuscript and thus put a longer gap between my releases than I would have liked.

For that reason, and the many other roadblocks that we writers face, it can be easy to get discouraged in this business and give into the fear that comes with putting your creativity out into the world.

The quote below started making the rounds again after the recent passing of Steve Jobs. I think it’s a great quote for anyone who has a dream of accomplishing something but are afraid to try, to put themselves out there where failure is a real possibility, especially public failure. As an author, I can relate to that fear. Most writers live with it on a continual basis.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

- Steve Jobs in a commencement address at Stanford in 2005

Fear (of failure and success) can be a part of what makes it difficult to push forward with any goal. One way to look at it is along the lines of what Steve Job was saying: in the end what do you really have to lose by trying? Another way to look at it is that most accomplishments require a series of tasks. Break down a goal into tasks and it becomes less frightening and more manageable.

Very few writers can create a publishable first draft. And those who do often edit and revise as they write that draft. They have a process that involves re-reading their work as they write, either chapter by chapter or at the beginning of a writing session or whenever they get stuck and need to go back over what they’ve written. It varies for everyone. Even with creative endeavors there are steps that one can take, a process that works for the individual writer or painter or musician or whatever, and moving forward with those steps is the way the end result is achieved.

That’s how many goals are accomplished, how dreams are discovered. Through creativity, diligence, and perseverance.

Just think about where Steve Jobs (and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak) started with Apple and how far personal computers advanced during his lifetime. Sure, he was only one part of that achievement, but the advancement of the technology does illustrate how far a dream can go.

FROM THIS...

1976 - Apple I
Photo Credit: Flickr/Ed Uthman


TO THIS...

2010 - iPad
Photo Credit: Apple

So, for all of you out there with a dream to achieve a specific goal—whether it’s writing or mountain climbing or losing weight or anything else—I hope you see that you are already naked and decide to give it a try.

“To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift.”
- Franklin Roosevelt

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com

A little bit of history

I come by my love of history genetically.

My mother is what I think of as an amateur historian. She’s more than just a buff, but she doesn’t have a history degree. She also was always trying to get us kids to participate in her hobbies, which meant that we got dragged to all manner of cultural events—operas, classical music concerts, museums, dry movies we didn’t want to see, historic villages, battle reenactments. I chafed at a lot of these things as a kid, but at some point I kind of got into and learned to appreciate them, too.

My mother’s particular interest is in American military history (which makes sense given that I had an ancestor in every major American war). When I was a teenager, she was particularly interested in the Civil War. We visited battlefields and cemeteries, we sat through the Ken Burns documentary a few times, she passed me a bunch of books to read, and we even wound up at the centennial celebration for Grant’s Tomb in 1997. I’d say this is probably where my interest in Victorian/Gilded Age America comes from.

I moved to New York City almost ten years ago, and developed a kind of obsessive interest in the history of the place I call home. Part of that was timing; the city was still reeling from 9/11 when I moved to Manhattan, and it was hard not to be conscious of history. But New York is a very forward-looking city, which seems to be constantly trying to make itself bigger and better and shinier, so it’s not as in touch with its past as some other places. (Boston, for example; you can’t walk more than a block without tripping over a plaque or a monument.) So you have to dig for it a little. But history is there if you go looking. Which I like to do.

The inspiration for Across the East River Bridge comes from that place. I knew almost nothing about Brooklyn when I moved here in 2006, but that was easily rectified. I took historical walking tours and did a lot of wandering. I visited historic sites and got lost in Green-Wood Cemetery. I read a lot about Brooklyn in the latter half of the nineteenth century, particularly just before it was incorporated into the rest of the city. There’s a lot of really fascinating history there. Plus, one of the great things about Brooklyn is that you can walk by a row of old brownstones that still have the original gas lamps out front, and it feels a little like taking a walk back in time.

The Brill House, the fictional museum in Across the East River Bridge, is (fictionally) located on Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights, which is also where Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims is (actually) located. Plymouth Church was Henry Ward Beecher’s pulpit, and Beecher was involved in a scandal that is linked to the events of my novel. The two main characters of the story, Finn and Troy, live in the present day and study history. They end up working together to solve the mystery of a murder that took place in 1878. The murder victims are also fictional, but, as we see through journal entries, they interacted with a lot of real historical figures. Most prominent in the novel is Victoria Woodhull, who was a women’s rights advocate—and kind of a troublemaker—who lived at this time. Woodhull was the first to publicize details of an affair Beecher had with one of his parishioners, which is the connection there, but Woodhull was also an advocate for free love and, to a point, sexual liberation. (She was also the first woman to run for president. Seriously, she’s a fascinating figure.)

So, Across the East River Bridge is my possibly nerdy little tribute to the history of Brooklyn. It’s also a ghost story and a mystery and a love story. It’s... complicated. But it was a ton of fun to write, so I hope you enjoy it, too.

You can buy the book here. Or you can check out the Special Features page which has historical background, suggested reading, and a bunch of photos.

Kate McMurray
www.katemcmurray.com
@katemcmwriter

New Release: Across the East River Bridge

My new m/m paranormal/mystery/historical novel, Across the East River Bridge is available today. I'm pretty excited about the book; in a way, it's a kind of love letter to Brooklyn, where I've lived for the last five years. It's about two rival historians who, through circumstance, end up working together on a 140 year old murder mystery. Troy curates a small museum that he thinks is haunted by the ghosts of the murder victims. When Finn comes to him to ask for help with a different research project, Troy talks him into helping with the investigation. The two men pore over newspapers, records, and journal entries to piece together clues. Then the ghosts raise the stakes.

Buy the book here!

You can also check out the book trailer!

And here's an excerpt:

Troy grabbed a small notebook from his desk. “Let’s go.”

He led Finn down the hall. Finn took a moment to check Troy out again; looking at him certainly stirred something in Finn. Troy had always been classically handsome, but whether it was his good looks or their long history together that got Finn’s blood pumping, it was hard to say. Probably a little of both. Finn found that frustrating; this would be so much easier if he could just get the information he needed and leave without having to think about all of this.

“We’re setting up exhibits on the first, second, and third floors. The fourth floor is the library, and the fifth floor is mostly storage. The third floor has a portrait gallery of famous residents of Victorian Brooklyn and a gallery of mediocre landscapes by Brooklyn artists, mostly the cast-offs of the main KCHS museum. Do you care about those?”

“Not especially.”

Troy nodded and continued walking toward a stairwell. He mounted the first step and said, “I want to add a photography gallery, but I’m still sorting through several boxes of prints from the KCHS archive. I’ll keep an eye out for Ms. Woodhull.”

“Thanks. What’s on the second floor?”

Troy smiled. “This is the real highlight of the museum, as far as I’m concerned. We’ve recreated what a building like this would have looked like in the 1870s. A lot of this furniture was in storage at the KCHS or other museums in the city, waiting for a home. Some of the pieces are really extraordinary.”

When they got to the second floor, Finn followed Troy into what looked like a bedroom. There was a grandiose four-poster bed off to the side with heavy green damask draped all around it. The bed was made of oak, Finn guessed, as was the ornate chest of drawers on the other side of the room.

“The building was originally constructed in 1868,” Troy said, flipping through pages in his notebook. “It was intended to be a single-family residence according to the plan, but from very early on, before 1872 at least, the owner rented out rooms on the upper floors. My guess is he needed the income from the boarders. At any rate, this was the master bedroom. It’s been many other things over the years, too, and this whole building was converted into apartments in the sixties, but this is our best guess for how the room would have looked when the first owner lived here. We had some floor plans and even a fuzzy photograph.”

Finn wondered if he should be taking notes. “You’ve had to do a lot of work on this room.”

“Yeah, in its last incarnation, this was a studio apartment with a kitchen and everything. We took out the kitchen. It’s been kind of fun, watching this house devolve into its original form. Like backward time-lapse photography.” Troy walked over to the bed and ran a finger up one of the posts. “The house is said to be haunted too.”

“Oh, please.”

“I’ve seen enough weird stuff that I can’t stay completely skeptical, let’s just say. There have been a number of documented ghostly occurrences here. A woman who lived here briefly in the forties kept a journal detailing her encounters with the spirits. Most of it’s classic haunted-house stuff. Strange noises, cold blasts of air, doors suddenly slamming shut. Interestingly, almost every account of paranormal activity here indicates that the ghosts are two men.”

“Okay.” Finn had run into many ghost stories over the years he’d been working as a researcher and thought most of the stories were pure nonsense. He humored Troy, though, who seemed to be enjoying himself. “Do you know anything about who the ghosts might be?”

“No one has ever specified, but I have a guess.” Troy’s eyes practically sparkled with excitement.

“Did the previous owners know?”

“No, but I don’t think they bothered to find out.”

Troy enjoyed drawing things like this out, Finn knew. He held out a hand and motioned for Troy to keep talking. “What’s your guess?”

“The first owner of this house was Theodore Cummings Brill. He was the youngest son of a large and moderately wealthy family. He and another man, George Washington Cutler, were found dead in this very bedroom in 1878.”

A shiver went up Finn’s spine. Someone had died in the room in which he was standing. “So that’s who you think is haunting this house?”

“Yes. The facts fit, given when the sightings started.” Troy walked closer to Finn. “I’m working on digging up causes of death. There was a story in the Times, but it was vague, saying only that the circumstances of their deaths were unusual. I’ve been piecing together other evidence, though.”

“And you have a theory. You always have a theory.”

“Suicide. Possibly murder-suicide, but I’m pretty sure they both took their own lives. Because they were gay.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “You always think everyone was gay. You bought that horseshit about Lincoln being gay. Sometimes there’s a simpler and much less biased explanation. What makes you think murder-suicide?”

“I can’t remember offhand. Something I read, a contemporary account of the crime, I think. It makes more sense than any other theory of the crime I’ve seen.” Troy rocked on his heels. “Some of the flooring is original. If you squint, you can still see the blood stains in the wood paneling on the floor.”

Finn shivered again. “Show me something else.” He left the room.

Troy’s shoes squeaked on the floor as he caught up to Finn. “The theory has merits.” He led Finn across the hall to another room. It had an elaborate sofa and a couple of chairs, everything Rococo revival. It was not a style Finn especially liked, but he knew it was popular in the 1870s. The upholstery on all of the pieces was beautiful, almost like new, except for a chaise longue in the corner that looked faded and worn.

Finn bent to take a closer look at the scrollwork on the sofa. Troy said, “This is the parlor. The furniture is mostly from the 1850s, but we had everything reupholstered, save for the chaise, obviously. The upholstery on the other pieces had disintegrated, but, I don’t know, I kind of like the old faded quality on the chaise. What do you think?”

“I agree. It looks kind of…soft and homey.” Finn meant it. He bet that chaise would be an excellent place to take a nap. Of course, thinking about that made Finn think about beds, and he had a sudden flash of Troy, hovering over him, naked. That certainly got his blood pumping. He coughed, trying to keep his body’s reaction to the memory at bay. He reminded himself that he didn’t like Troy much.

You Gotta Read Reviews: Review – My Two Doms By G.G. Royale

You Gotta Read Reviews: Review – My Two Doms By G.G. Royale: Title: My Two Doms Author: G. G. Royale Publisher: Loose Id Buy Link: Buy My Two Doms Here! Rating: You Want to Read Reviewed by: Gab...